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2008/02/17 - 17h18
Gybe in turquoise waters
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| Jules Verne Trophy |
| To the South of New Zealand, Groupama 3 performed a small tack 90° to the route to reposition herself in the NE in order to
avoid the worst of the steady breeze, which is reigning over this entry into the Pacific. Their lead over the reference time
has been reduced slightly but Franck Cammas and his men are anticipating good conditions over the coming days to enable them
to slip along at speed!
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500 miles on from the antemeridian at midday, Franck Cammas and his nine crew opted to reposition themselves to the NE
so as not to suffer overly difficult seas off New Zealand. With over 35 knots of breeze and six to seven metre waves, the
objective above all else is to skirt round this zone of low pressure, generating very strong winds as it shifts northwards.
Of course the route to reach Cape Horn will be longer, but most importantly it is safer for the boat, which still has over
10,000 miles to go before Ushant!
"We're making towards the NE a little as the low is forcing us to distance ourselves
from the centre of the disturbance where there are fifty knot winds. We should remain in manageable seas, because right now,
we are in the strongest of the wind... The sea and the swell are beginning to become more ordered, but it's the first time
we've encountered this type of wave. Groupama 3's handles exceptionally well in these conditions; she doesn't bury into the
seas, even though there are some vibratory phenomena in the floats and beams, which are requiring us to be careful"
detailed Franck Proffit at today's radio session.
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Batten breakageThe reason for this caution is that on a round the world, which lasts over a month and a half, the goal is essentially to
make a compromise with the seas and the wind, so as the equipment doesn't fatigue and the crew aren't put under too much pressure.
Groupama 3 has demonstrated that she has exceptional potential even with rather uncooperative weather conditions, but Franck
Cammas and his men also know that to go quickly, you have to have total confidence in your boat and that it serves no purpose
to make it `suffer'. It is sufficient to wait for the situation to become more favourable before you put the pedal to the
metal, which shouldn't be too far away given the forecasts. The Pacific in around eight days is the latest gauntlet the giant
trimaran is running, in winds which will certainly still be steady SW'lies, but are soon set to shift back round to the NW
with the arrival of a new low from Monday.
"We just made a gybe half an hour ago in thirty five knots of wind:
we broke one batten... We can perform this type of manoeuvre with seven crew so that the guys who are resting, can continue
to sleep. It's not just the gennaker manoeuvres, which require more people on deck though, so we try to set this manoeuvre
in motion during a watch change where everyone is awake. Luckily it's just batten number one, which has broken (at the top
of the mainsail, on the headboard), but it's not very serious: we have spare battens... We're going to wait a while before
dropping the mainsail as we still have six to seven metre waves."
This repositioning towards Stewart Island
should enable Groupama 3 to trace a long wake towards Cape Horn, without the worry of icebergs coming up from the Ross Sea,
thanks to its rather N'ly trajectory along 48° South. The big glide towards the tip of South America is therefore on the programme
for the coming days and we can expect some astounding average speeds at the start of the week... And though Orange II was
pretty quick in the Pacific, it is now an established fact that Groupama 3 can effortlessly step up the pace and make up further
ground as soon as the big W'ly swell gets behind it. And in a week's time they'll already be at Cape Horn!
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